Jon Holato

Apple is set to announce a deal tomorrow that will allow social networking site Bebo’s 8.8 million UK and Ireland users to purchase music directly from the profile of any musician, provided their music is also available on iTunes as well. Beginning Wednesday, the iTunes Internet music download service will be embedded into 500,000 musicians’ profiles — with approximately 4,000 more bands signing up each day.

This marks an important shift for Apple in the way they market music to the masses, as it will be the first time that Apple will link iTunes to a social networking site. Apple says the deal will allow them greater access to the 16-24-year-old market, as this is the primary demographic for social networking sites. Such users are also typically frequenters of illegal downloading sites, and Apple hopes that by making the process quicker and more accessible it will encourage them to purchase music.

Building on the idea of iTunes’ Single of the Week, which has helped to launch the careers of James Blunt, Kate Walsh, Scott Mathews and others, Bebo will also act as a platform to promote lesser-known artists, as users will be able to download a free single each week from an up and coming artist.

Apple is viewing this deal as experimental, but if it proves to be successful the service could be expanded to reach Bebo’s 33 million users worldwide.

I think this is a great move for Apple. Although I’m not a dedicated Bebo user, I certainly see the logic behind their decision. I can recall countless times where I have heard music on social networking sites and thought wow I like this song enough that I would pay for it. Now, with that as an option, I just might.